Introducing “The Complaint Department”
We are all professional complainers, right? We all know how to complain. We all know how complaining makes us feel. Most of us know that complaining doesn’t solve anything. Back in the Old Testament, it was Moses’s job to listen to the complaints of God’s chosen people as they journeyed on their Exodus. However, their complaints didn’t result in feeling like we do. In our series, “The Complaint Department,” we are going through six different situations where God’s chosen people complained, leading to sinful behavior, and resulting in unfavorable action from them.
My goal for this series is to help us understand the impact of our own complaining, understanding how our complaints can lead to hardships that result in actions that don’t often benefit us. Using the stories found with God’s chosen people, I want us to look at the opposite of their complaints to see how things may have gone differently.
REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: What does it mean to you to “complain”?
Review of Part 5
In Part 5, we looked at Numbers 20:2-3 and listen to their complaint about their lack of water. Their sinful behavior (how they missed the mark of God’s ideal in how they should live) was to not trust in God’s provision. As a result, it forced Moses and Aaron to act on their own accord. As a result of their actions, neither one would be eligible to enter the Promised Land.
The Israelites faced a very real need during their wilderness journey: the need of what. Instead of leaning on the same God that got them this far in their journey, they complained and rebelled against Moses and Aaron. As Christians, we’re called to depend on God for all of our needs. In the Old Testament, we learned how the Israelites had to trust in God for things like freedom and manna. In the New Testament, Jesus teaches us to trust in God’s provision and to not be anxious about what we need. We trust by faith that God will provide us with the resources we need to live our lives, either directly or indirectly. He gifts us strength, wisdom, and courage to take the next step in our journey. We have these conversations through prayer to highlight where our needs are and how we can lean on God for answers.
The Israelites God their water, but at a cost. God wanted to show His power, mercy, and faithfulness to Israel, but human impatience wouldn’t let this happen. Aaron ended up died on Mt. Hor and Moses died on Mt. Nebo. Joshua led the people into the Promised Land, the ultimate gift from God. For us, it’s a reminder to trust in God’s timing. All decisions we make are supposed to reflect God’s character.
The Sixth Complaint
The last complaint we’re going to look at is found in Numbers 21:5. They believe the wilderness is a place of death instead of a journey towards a place of life.
NASB – So the people spoke against God and Moses: “Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we are disgusted with this miserable food.”
NRSVUE – The people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.”
VOICE – They challenged both God and Moses. ISRAELITES: What were you thinking to bring us up out of Egypt and let us die out here in this desert land? There’s nothing to eat and no water either. We are sick and tired of living on what food we have.
They are rejecting God’s authority and Moses’s leadership. Rebelling against Moses was a way to reflect directly against God. Egypt, even though it was a place of slavery, oppression, and death, was a place of happiness and comfort for them. They believed that their hardships was a sign that God failed their rescue, forgetting all about the different saving acts that have happened up until that point. The wilderness journey was a place where God exposed unbelief among His chosen people and taught dependence.
They received water and manna, but still ignored God provision. Their hearts grown dissatisfied with how God was sustaining them. They received manna each day to strengthen them. For us, we can view the usage of manna as the future Christ, true Bread of Life. Jesus can satisfy the deepest hunger of humanity. Israel rejecting God’s bread previewed them later rejecting the salvation that God gives through His Son.
REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: Israel had plenty of opportunities to see God’s provision happen, but they still reject any attempt at sustaining them. Given everything that we talked about in this series, would you still reject Yahweh?
The Bread of Life
Just as they needed physical sustenance, we need spiritual sustenance from Jesus – the bread of life. Bread is exactly what you know it to be – a food made from flour, water, and yeast or another leavening agent. Bread represents sustenance, life, and God’s provision. In their wilderness journey, the bread (manna) was to represent God’s provision, and show that God is faithful and cares for His people. Jesus, in the New Testament, called Himself the “bread of Life.” Jesus is the source of eternal life and our spiritual fulfillment.
The wilderness was never a place of death, but a continuous reminder of a life with God. Throughout the entirety of their wilderness journey, God provided them freedom, food, water, and protection. It may not be what the Israelites wanted. It wasn’t what they used to have in Egypt. This arduous journey throughout the wilderness got them to the Promised Land where they could become a brand-new community. They didn’t have to live a life according to the oppressive, pagan standards of Egypt. They have a new land, a new community, to live a life separate from the rest of the world’s standards.
Christians today are held to a higher spiritual standard compared to the rest of the world. This standard can appear counter-cultural to the rest of the world. This standard is a way that we can hold our Christian siblings to a proper way of reflecting God’s character to the rest of the world. We can’t hold those that aren’t following God to this same standard. We are called to lead by example, showing the rest of the world how we can live a life that’s grounded in love, compassion, mercy and justice. We find the strength, courage, wisdom, and confidence to do this through the life of Jesus. He teaches us what it looks like to live a godly life here on earth. Through His ways, we learn how to love God, love our neighbor, care for our community and environment, and seek just ways to ensure that the people who’ve been pushed out in the margins can have their needs met in whatever way is possible. God sustains us so that we can help sustain each other. Through these acts, we can share with others who God is, how God has impacted our own life, and how it could impact others. We don’t push. We don’t judge. We don’t condemn. We plant seeds, and allow God to mature those seeds in whatever way works best.
REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: How do you see the Bread of Life in your life?
The Slithery Response
So what happened to the Israelites? Well they got a slithery surprise. Let’s look at Numbers 21:6-9 to see what happens next:
NASB – 6 Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. 7 So the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned because we have spoken against the Lord and against you; intercede with the Lord, that He will remove the serpents from us.” And Moses interceded for the people. 8 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and put it on a flag pole; and it shall come about that everyone who is bitten, and looks at it, will live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent and put it on a flag pole; and it came about, that if a serpent bit someone, and he looked at the bronze servant, and lived.”
NRSVUE – 6 Then the Lord sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.” 9 So Moses made a serpent of bronze and put it upon a pole, and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of the bronze and live.
VOICE – 6 As a divine response, the Eternal One sent venomous snakes among them and the people were bitten. A number of Israelites were indeed killed by them. 7 They then appealed to Moses. (ISRAELITES: We are so sorry! We know that it was wrong to speak against the Eternal and against you. Please talk to Him, and get Him to take these awful snakes away.) So Moses appealed to God on behalf of the terrified and chastened congregation, 8 and He instructed Moses. (ETERNAL ONE: Make a venomous snake that looks like the ones tormenting the congregation, and put it on a pole. Everyone who gets bitten can simply look at your serpent and be healed.) 9 So Moses took some bronze and cast a likeness of those vicious snakes to serves as an antidote for anyone who had been bitten. If they were to look on the bronze serpent, they would then live.
Two things that I want to focus on in this passage: why the plague of snakes and why the bronze snake to heal them.
God’s Rescue Plan
The Lord responded to their rebellion through intense discipline. The people encountered a new deadly danger that God kept from them in the wilderness. The fiery serpents brought burning pain and death. They couldn’t escape this judgment. The deaths that came from this revealed real, tangible consequences in regards to rebelling against God. This judgment, however, prepared the way, for God’s saving provision to come in. Those who looked to the serpent, by faith, were saved.
They trusted that God would rescue them. Verse 7 shows their sorrow in the face of the judgment they received. They didn’t want to face their punishment. They wanted rescued. They wanted to be saved. They found their rescue through Moses’s intercession. It’s a reminder for us that Jesus intercedes on our behalf. To create a path of rescue from our rebellion and sinful behavior. To create a path of reconciliation and restoration so that we can have a right-standing relationship with God. We need to accept this salvation for our lives, and work towards living a life that honors God’s character and reflects His love, compassion, mercy and justice.
REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: Our salvation leads us back to God after our time of sin and rebellion. What does it meant to you find God’s salvation?
A Simple Message
After Moses’s intercession, God told Moses to make a fiery serpent and mount it. God wanted Moses to make a representation of that judgment, while being able to provide a place of deliverance for those who were affected. The serpent was placed in a spot that all people could see it. It wasn’t any human-made, natural remedy. It was a divine remedy sourced by faith. Anyone who looked at the serpent, trusted God. They could find healing through their belief and following God’s command.
This shows us the simplicity of the Gospel message. It’s trusting in the fact that Jesus died on the cross to atone for our sins. This acts allows us to be forgiven by God and provides a path that we can reconcile our relationship and restore what it means to be a Child of God. I’m reminded of what Paul said in Romans 10:9, which says: “…because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Paul knew the simplicity of the Gospel right there. We have the ability to receive an eternal salvation, ensuring that we have a place in the Kingdom of Heaven. Until then, we become His hands and feet in this world. We ensure that we go out and love God and love neighbor. We go out and feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, visit the sick and sheltered, and more. We give a voice to the voiceless, help meet the needs of those that are struggling, and more. The message of the Gospel is simple, and through our actions – we can share it.
REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: What ways can you show the Gospel message through your actions?
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